Walsh’s home run helps lift Pacific Little League All-Stars past South Dakota

Pacific Little League’s Tyler Durbin slides home safely during a Little League World Series game against South Dakota Saturday at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Penn. (Photos by Joe Michael)

The Pacific Little League All-Stars scratched and clawed their way to a critical victory Saturday afternoon at the Little League World Series.

Colton Walsh smacked a go-ahead 2-run home run in the top of the fourth inning and a Rapid City of South Dakota runner was ruled out on a controversial running out of the base paths call to end the game as Pacific pulled out a 7-5 victory at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Penn.

“It’s a great feeling to get a win. It feels absolutely amazing,” said Pacific manager Robley Corsi Jr. said. “We hope to get at least a couple more. We’re going to keep it going and have some fun with it.”

Pacific takes on the loser of the Texas-Pennsylvania game at noon, Monday, Aug. 18. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The victory in Saturday’s elimination game means that Pacific remains in contention for the Little League World Series title.

Walsh’s mammoth home run was the fourth and final lead change of the contest and could not have come at a better time.

Colton Walsh hit a key 2-run home run in the fourth inning.

“He had been struggling at the plate,” Corsi Jr. said. “It was nice to see him break out today. … he hit that a ton. It was a great spark. It was at the right time.”

Pacific was coming off a tough 12-2 loss to Illinois and Corsi Jr. knew that rebounding from a loss wasn’t going to be easy. The last loss for Pacific was to Federal Way in a second round game at the state tournament.

“Anytime you lose … the hardest game to win is that next game,” Corsi Jr. said. “It’s tough to do. Once you get over that you hope to get that train rolling again.”

Pacific had the opportunity to choose to be either the home or visiting team. Corsi Jr. chose to be visitors and the decision paid off as his team put a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the first inning.

Leadoff hitter Matthew Turcotte got on with an infield single and Walsh beat out an infield throw. Another infield single by Logan Kruse loaded the bases and following back-to-back strikeouts, Ben Grant hit a hard grounder that the second baseman was unable to field and both Turcotte and Walsh scored. Grant, however, was thrown out a first to end the inning.

Ian Michael (left) is all smiles after an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Pacific was unable to sustain the advantage as a walk and single set the stage for a 3-run home run by Matthew Hegre and South Dakota went up 3-2.

Karsen Tjarneberg helped Pacific retake a 4-3 lead in the third inning when he hit a single to left field to drive in Tygan Duncan and Tyler Durbin, who had reached base on an error and a single, respectively.

Then it was South Dakota’s turn to respond and Daniel Vigoren obliged with a 2-run double to help his team take a 5-4 advantage.

With one out in the fourth, Robley Corsi III singled to right field and then after a strikeout, Walsh launched a home run on a 3-2 count to give Pacific a 6-5 lead.

Pacific pushed across an insurance run in the fifth inning. Tjarneberg singled to center field with one out. Following another strikeout, Michael rushed to the plate after running in from the bullpen where he was warming up.

“He got a late start. He was supposed to come in,” Corsi Jr. said. “We told him to hurry up. It might have been a blessing in disguise. He didn’t have any time to think about it.”

Tai Starchman gets ready to face South Dakota.

With the count 0-2, Michael stroked a single to center field to drive in Tjarneberg.

“Rather than swing it hard, he just tried to put the ball in play,” Corsi Jr. said. “It was great.”

Tai Starchman pitched 3 1/3 innings before yielding to Tjarneberg, who threw through the fifth inning. When Corsi Jr. visited his pitcher on the mound, Starchman indicted his arm felt tired, so Pacific’s manager made the switch. Corsi Jr. expects and receives honest answers from his players.

“That’s what we. We are a team,” Corsi Jr. said “He (Starchman) knows the next guy coming in is going to do the job. So we bring in the next guy.”

Michael took the mound in the sixth and retired the first batter before Bridger Nesbit hit a single to center field. Michael then struck out the next batter before Hegre followed with a single to left field to bring the potential winning run to the plate.

Dylan Richey then hit a single to center field and it appeared Nesbit would be able to score easily but he stumbled and fell on his way to home plate. As he scrambled to his feet, Nesbit took a wide turn to the right to avoid catcher Corsi III, who was waiting for the ball.

The home plate umpire called Nesbit out for running out of the base paths. The South Dakota manager protested and following a conference with all the umpires the ruling stood. Little League officials indicated that it was an umpire’s judgment call and those calls are not reviewable under instant replay.

The Pacific Little League team during the national anthem.

“That Midwest team was one tough club,” Corsi Jr. said “They were a great ball club. It’s hard to see a game end like that.”

Pacific’s magical postseason run continues on Monday and Corsi Jr. and his players want to keep it going.

“The idea is that we want to keep playing,” Corsi Jr. said. “We don’t want this thing to end. We’re not going to get too high. The hard part is that every game that we’ve had has been like this. We’re getting used to it. I’m getting some grey hair. My beard is getting greyer every game. We’ll just keep it rolling.”

– By David Pan

Robley Corsi III and coach Robley Corsi Jr. before the start of Saturday’s game against South Dakota.Pacific Little League fans show their support during Saturday’s contest.Pacific Little League players prepare to greet the South Dakota team after pulling out a 7-5 victory.

Go Pacific!! I would love to see your team go all the way. This brings back many memories of when I played little league baseball 47 years ago. Tai Starchman is related to me down the line, as my mother was Mary Ann Starchman.

SUPPORT US when shopping at Amazon!
If you shop at Amazon, please visit there by clicking here. We’ll get a small commission on your purchase(s), which helps support My Edmonds News. Consider bookmarking this page for your future Amazon purchases.

We welcome comments on all posts at My Edmonds News. To encourage constructive community dialogue, all commenters must use their real names, first and last. Comments from users with names that don't comply with this policy will be removed. We also ask that you comply with our Code of Conduct policy, which you can view here.